Andy Murray faces Rafa Nadal in Monte-Carlo Masters semi-final after thrashing Milos Raonic

Andy Murray is through to the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters for the third time in his career after recording a crushing 6-2, 6-0 victory over Milos Raonic in just 66 minutes. After his testing three-set wins over Pierre Hugues-Herbert and Benoit Paire in his first two matches, Murray swept Raonic aside with an impressive display of controlled aggression.

Murray’s victory sets up an intriguing semi-final showdown with Rafael Nadal, who was an equally emphatic winner, beating Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4 in an hour and 17 minutes. Nadal, who is looking to win the title on the Cote d’Azur for the ninth time, beat Murray in both of the Scot’s previous semi-final appearances in the tournament, in 2009 and 2011. However, Murray won their most recent meeting on clay, in the final of last year’s Madrid Masters.

It was another afternoon of glorious sunshine by the Mediterranean. The conditions were all but perfect, although serving remained difficult from one end because of the sun.

Clay is a particularly difficult surface for Raonic, whose big serve is so much more effective on quicker courts. The Canadian also appeared to be troubled by a leg injury which he had suffered the previous day. For what is believed to be the first time in his professional career he failed to serve an ace in the whole match, which seemed to be an indication of his physical difficulties. It was a reminder, too, of the last time the world No 12 played Murray, at the Australian Open in January, when another injury was a significant factor in his defeat over five sets.

Whatever Raonic’s problems, Murray looked in excellent shape. The world No 2 served well, returned beautifully, volleyed confidently and remained fully focused on his task throughout. Murray made just 10 unforced errors compared with Raonic’s 20 and hit 19 winners to the Canadian’s 12. The Scot did not have to defend a single break point and took five of his nine opportunities to break his opponent’s serve.

“The two most important shots in tennis I did really well today,” Murray told Sky Sports afterwards. “I thought I served very well. After the first game of the match I don’t think he really had any chances on my serve.

“Then my return was very good. I was getting a good read on the serve. When he missed the first serve I was being very offensive on the second-serve returns and putting him under pressure. Maybe I made him go for a little bit more on the first serve and his percentage dropped a bit. Then when I was in the rallies I was able to dictate from there. The serve and the return were the best they’ve been in a while for me. I’m glad because they weren’t so strong in the last couple of matches.”

Although Murray won two titles on clay last year – the first of his career – it is still the most challenging surface for him. “It takes me time to remember how to play on it,” he said. “Most years I go 10 months without playing on a clay court. Grass is a bit more natural for me and the rest of the year is on hard courts.

“Every year it takes me a few weeks to remember what I need to do on this surface, how to move, the way to build up the points and make sure you don’t rush. On hard courts you’re hitting the ball a bit flatter and the points are over a bit faster. On this surface you obviously play with a little more height and spin and you have to be more patient, which I wasn’t in the first couple of matches.”

Nadal recorded his 15th victory in his 18 career meetings with Wawrinka, who was the champion at this event two years ago. The 29-year-old Spaniard, who won the Monte Carlo title eight years in a row from 2005, failed to win a Grand Slam tournament last year for the first time since 2004 but was encouraged by his recent run in Indian Wells and came through a difficult test against Dominic Thiem in the previous round.

Having swept through the first set in just 27 minutes, Nadal was pushed harder in the second. He broke to lead 3-2, only to drop his serve to love in the following game as Wawrinka fought back. However, another break of serve enabled Nadal to serve out for victory.

Murray returned to the court later in the day to partner his Davis Cup colleague, Dominic Inglot, in the quarter-finals of the doubles against France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who had lost to the Scot in the singles, and Nicolas Mahut. Murray and Inglot, who lost the first set despite winning the first two games, fought back well in the second and had a match point in the champions’ tie-break before going down 6-4, 3-6, 12-10.

Jamie Murray, Andy’s brother, and his partner, Bruno Soares, are through to the last four thanks to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea. In the semi-finals they will face Marcelo Melo and Ivan Dodig. Murray replaced Melo as world No 1 earlier this month.